A Long Road Ahead
by MannyZanders
Summary: The Zacchara family struggles to deal with an outside interference that just won't go away. JoMax


_A/N: A co-fic by Anne and Renee (General_Hospital_Fan) – We own nothing GH related._

Johnny Zacchara had never been a heavy sleeper and nearly twenty years of running the Zacchara Organization had not diminished that habit.

A soft creak of the floorboards just outside his bedroom door snapped him from his sleep. He sat up with a start, alert eyes watching his door as it swung slowly open. He relaxed his stance and drew back from his instinctive shielding of his still sleeping wife.

"Hey Dad - I didn't wake up Mom, did I?" Johnny returned his sons smile and glanced at his pregnant wife. He shook his head with a fond grin.

"No – you know your mom JJ; she could sleep through a train wreck."

"Yeah." John Jr. – or JJ as his family called him - laughed softly and kept his voice low. His mom was a heavy sleeper but there was no need to chance waking her before she was ready.

"Georgie and Mona-Li are still asleep but I really need to get going - I'm already late to pick up Emma."

Johnny frowned slightly then shrugged his shoulders and nodded. His wife would insist that their son take care of his sister first, but he could remember when your girlfriend was the most important thing in your world. Hell, who was he kidding? He was still that way. Maxie was his world, had been long before they'd said their vows.

And JJ and Emma were at the very beginning stages of their romance. Sure, they'd been best friends since they were toddlers but it had only been a few weeks since their relationship had developed into something deeper, more intimate. Despite his wife's insistence, he didn't really think their son needed his sister's constant presence. He understood her desire that their children maintain a close relationship – despite the years, she still missed her dead sister desperately. But at seventeen, JJ was rapidly growing into a man.

"Go on ahead JJ - I'll take care of getting the girls to school." Johnny replied with an indulgent grin.

"Thanks Dad." He closed the door softly behind him and Johnny slipped out of bed quietly and pulled on a pair of sweats and a tee-shirt. He bent over his wife's still sleeping form and settled a gentle kiss on her swollen belly. She was forever complaining about looking like a beached whale while she was pregnant. But the truth was, even at seven months along – she was still breathtakingly beautiful.

Walking down the long hallway to his daughter's room, he smiled at the guard stationed at the door and dismissed him with a nod. Opening the door softly, he grinned at the sight of his daughter buried under a mass of blankets with one sock covered foot and her shock of blonde hair sticking out from beneath them.

"Come on Georgie-girl, it's time to get up." He peeled the covers off her and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"Ugh, Daddy – I don't wanna…"

"Too bad munchkin, you don't really get a vote in this. Time for school."

His grin widened as she dove back under the covers with a muffled curse. Her mother would have a fit if she heard her daughter's mouth sometimes, but it just amused Johnny. His daughter had too much of his beloved wife in her for him to ever truly get mad at her. She was definitely a Daddy's girl.

"Ugh…Daddy – please? Pretty, pretty please Daddy? Just this once, let me skip school and stay home with you." She popped her head out of the covers with an exaggerated pout on her face and he shook his head with an amused chuckle.

"Nope, sorry Princess – not going to work this time. Last time I let you talk me into that, I slept on the couch for a week."

Georgie huffed and flopped back with a groan. Usually, she could get her Daddy to do whatever she wanted. But not when it came to upsetting her mom. She wasn't stupid, she knew what her dad for a living – her parents had never lied to them about that – and she knew that most people were terrified of her dad. But anyone who really knew them - knew who really ran their house. Her dad just never seemed to be able to say the word No to her mom. She pushed back her covers and gave a mental shrug. It wasn't that bad, not really. She adored her mom too; she just didn't let her get away with as much as her dad did.

"Get Mona-Li up too and I'll make you guys pancakes, okay?"

Johnny smiled as his daughter clapped her hands enthusiastically at the mention of food. He shook his head in amusement as he watched his daughter pounce on the unsuspecting form of her sleeping friend.

"Come on Mona, get up." She bounced up and down and giggled as her friend flipped the covers off her face and glared at her.

"You better have a really good reason for bouncing all over me like some insane kangaroo, Gigi."

"We have to get ready for school – my Daddy's making us breakfast."

"You could have just said that, you bouncing weirdo."

Georgie stuck her tongue out her friend and bounced once more on her for good measure before skipping over to hug her dad with a grin.

"Can you make chocolate chip and blueberry, Daddy?"

"Sure Georgie-girl, but you two better hurry if you want me to drive you to school before my meeting with Jason this morning."

At that Monica Lila Morgan – Mona-Li to nearly everyone – stuck her head back out from the covers.

"I thought Daddy said you two were meeting over here."

"Change of plans." Johnny shrugged and smiled reassuringly at the tiny brunette. Much like Georgie, she took after her mother in looks and personality. She had her father's startling blue eyes, but she was the spitting image of Sam.

Sam and Jason had also never tried to shield their daughter from what her father did for a living. However while Georgie and JJ were accepting and nonchalant about the dangers of their life, Mona-Li tended to worry constantly about her parents and their safety.

"Your mom and Maxie are going shopping, so we decided to move the meeting to the warehouse."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, Mr. Zacchara." Johnny smiled and jerked his head towards daughters attached bathroom.

"If you want to say hi to your parents before I drop you two off at school, you better get moving."

"Okay."

Johnny watched her with a thoughtful frown. Mona-Li was a great kid, but he could see why her parents were worried about her. She used to be as carefree and innocent as Georgie but since her kidnapping a few months ago, she'd become quiet and withdrawn.

He was infinitely grateful he and Maxie had been able to shield their children from those kinds of dangers so far. He shook his head; he'd talk to Jason about maybe having her spend more time with Georgie. She seemed to relax a little more around her, was a little more of a kid again.

[i]00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000[/i]

JJ pulled up to his girlfriend's house with an eager smile that quickly faded as he saw who was on the front porch. He sighed, he really didn't want to start anything or make Emma uncomfortable – but he hated Matt Hunter with a passion. He didn't know if he could carry off phony politeness to the asshole that had nearly torn his parents apart with his deceit and manipulations.

A quick tap on his window startled him and he glanced at surprise at the guard that stood there.

"Yeah Cody?"

"You want me to get rid of the prick?" JJ grinned at the guard's hostility. The employees within his father's organization were incredibly loyal and especially protective of his mother. He suspected that if it were not for the fact his father was the first person the cops would look at, his guards would have disposed of the smarmy doctor months ago. JJ glanced back at the porch as he watched Emma's mom talk to her brother-in-law and he shook his head.

"Nah - don't worry about it Cody. I'll just wait here for Emma."

The guard sighed and cast a longing look towards the porch, his face clearly reflecting his strong desire to beat the crap out of Matt Hunter. He nodded at JJ and walked back to his car. He'd feel more comfortable if the kid would just let him and Tony drive him wherever he needed to go but he knew JJ needed some sense of freedom, of independence. And at least he didn't try to fight having constant shadows. He guessed it was a good compromise; at least he and Tony were always close enough to ensure the kid didn't get in too much trouble.

"Hey baby" Emma Drake plopped into the passenger seat with a smile and leaned over to pull her boyfriend into a heated kiss before they pulled away from the curb.

"What the hell was he doing there?"

"No idea - I didn't care enough to ask. I spent all nights fighting with my mom and dad again, so I was just happy to get the hell out of there."

"I really hate him."

Emma gave a bitter laugh, "Welcome to the club – my uncle is a first-grade asshole." Her disgusted expression gave way to mischievousness as she glanced at her boyfriend. "Are you sure we can't get your dad to whack him – fit him with some cement shoes – have him sleeping with the fishes?"

"I'm pretty sure my granddad would have a problem with that. He tends to frown on my dad doing the whole cement shoes thing." JJ laughed and returned her grin.

"Well, I don't see what good is having a grandpa that was once a police commissioner, if you can't get away with fitting one or two pricks with cement shoes every once in awhile."

"Baby, he's the mayor now. I don't see him getting re-elected if we go around killing off the town's doctors." He glanced at her and shook his head in amusement. "And you've been watching too many gangster movies."

"Bite me."


End file.
